Coaster Walkers – Wooden Coaster Maintenance

Roller Coaster Walkers – Wooden Coaster MaintenanceLast year I wrote a post on Coaster Rehab where I discussed the affects of aging on wooden coasters. The Washington Post recently wrote an article that showcased a day in the life of a Coaster Walker at Six Flags America.

Every morning at dawn, he’s out there.

They all are.

The roller coaster walkers.

All across the country, where there’s a wooden coaster, walkers such as Tony Zelko at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County are climbing the descents, rounding the curves and double-checking every wooden plank and every nut, bolt and bit of rail.

The job is a throwback and a workout — “think of a StairMaster on steroids,” says Zelko, director of maintenance and construction at the park — and it can be a daily meditation: “the Tao of maintenance,” he says.

“It’s like a big spider web, and we crawl around in it,” says Rob Lattin, 28, who has been coaster-walking at the amusement park for eight years. “We’re the spiders.”

With steady maintenance like what’s described in the article you’d think woodies like Roar wouldn’t beat you up the way it does. But I guess some roughness just can’t be helped. Check out the full Washington Post article here.